Holy Communion (December 28, 2025)
Pastor Andy Lambert   -   December 28, 2025

 

 

 

Sunday Morning, December 28, 2025

Holy Communion

Passages: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

 

 

The Lord’s Supper is one of the ordinances of the church and it is one that is crucial for believers to understand how it is and is not to be observed. You can go back and read the entire selection of verses found in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 and see that Paul is instructing the Corinthians church in detail. I want to touch on different points that he made, but I encourage you to go back and read these verses.

 

1 Corinthians 11:17 ~ “But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse.”

 

We find in verse 17 that Paul was rebuking the way the Corinthians were celebrating the Lord’s Supper. He had praised them for their diligence in keeping the traditions or customs of the church. But in dealing with the Lord’s Supper, he declared in no uncertain terms: “I praise you not.”

 

The Corinthians were tragically abusing the Lord’s Supper. The abuses may seem strange to some churches today because they simply partake of a bread crumb and a small glass of wine or grape juice to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. However, as stated in the introductory note, the Corinthians observed the Lord’s Supper with a full-fledged meal or Love Feast. There were four abuses, some of which are very applicable and speak very directly to the churches of every generation.

 

  • Verses 18-19 – There were divisions and cliques within the church which corrupted the Lord’s Supper. When divisions, cliques, factions, and parties exist, the spirit of a church is in disorder. Minds and hearts are not upon the Lord nor at peace with the Lord or with the Lord’s people. Disturbance, pain, anger, rumor, gossip, pride, selfishness, misunderstanding, and misrepresentation always prevail when there are divisions and cliques within a church.
  • Verse 20 – There was self-deception which corrupted the Lord’s Supper. Very simply, the Corinthians were only deceiving themselves in coming together and partaking of the cup and the bread. They may have thought they were celebrating the Lord’s Supper, but they were not; they were utterly deceived. What they were doing was not remembering and honoring the Lord. It was utterly impossible to have a divisive and cliquish spirit and honor the Lord. Their meeting together was utterly meaningless and useless to the Lord.
  • Verse 21 – There was selfishness and neglect of others which corrupted the Lord’s Supper. When the early church came together for the Love Feast, everyone brought all the food they could. This provided plenty for everyone, including the poor and the slaves who would not be able to bring much. The whole idea was to have a common meal where everyone shared.
  • Verse 22 – There was the abuse of the sanctity of the church and the shaming of the poor which corrupted the Lord’s Supper. Note that this verse is a series of questions that answer themselves and should stir conviction within the heart of the guilty.

 

Where we want to look at this morning is verses 23-26, where Paul gives us the real meaning of the Lord’s Supper. Paul clearly said that Christ discussed the Lord’s Supper with him in a special revelation. What he received from the Lord, he is now sharing with the Corinthian Church and with us today. We must also realize that Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper on the very night that He was betrayed.

 

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 ~ “23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

 

  • The meaning of the bread: note the exact words of Christ.
    • “Take, eat: this is my body.” There are, of course, various interpretations of this statement. Some say that the bread actually becomes the substance of the Lord’s body when a person eats the bread and drinks the cup. Others hold beliefs ranging from the elements being the actual substance to being merely a remembrance of the Lord. But note the word “is.” The word has the meaning of representing or identifying as well as of substance. We represents the image of and the glory of God in this world. We represent Christ in the world we are living in.
    • The words “which is broken for you” refer to the death, the bruising, and the suffering of Christ. Note the words “for you.” The word for points to the substitutionary nature of Jesus’ death. He died for us, as our substitute.
    • “This do in remembrance of me.” This means much more than just recalling the death of Christ. It means to actively stir up one’s mind and to meditate upon the person of Jesus Christ. Christ says to remember me, not just one aspect of His Person and work. The believer is to actively meditate upon Christ.

 

  • The meaning of the cup: again, note the exact words of the Lord.
    • “This cup is the new testament in my blood.” The idea is that the old covenant of the Old Testament is being set aside and God is establishing a new covenant with His people. The basis of the new covenant is the blood of Jesus Christ, not the blood of bulls and goats.
    • “This do ye, as oft as ye drink it.” Christ, very simply, told His followers to do as He was doing in celebrating His supper: set a time aside, take the cup, bless it, and drink of it.
    • “In remembrance of me.” This is repeated to stress the point that the Lord’s Supper has one purpose and only one purpose: to focus attention upon the Lord. The Lord’s people are to center their minds upon Him and Him alone. The celebration of the Lord’s Supper is not to be a time for fellowshipping and feasting.

 

  • The reason for observing the Lord’s Supper: note the word show. It means to proclaim, preach, declare, announce. The Lord’s Supper is both a picture and sermon which proclaims the Lord’s death and the Lord’s return.
    • The point is this: Christ died for us that we might live eternally with Him. Therefore, His death pictures both what He has done for us as well as what He is going to do for us when He returns. His death is a picture of both our past and present redemption as well as our future redemption when we shall be conformed to His image of perfection.

 

There are severe consequences or chastisement for partaking of the Lord’s Supper unworthily. What does it mean to partake of the supper unworthily? Paul is speaking directly to the Corinthians; so whatever their sins were is bound to be what Paul means by unworthily. The Corinthians were guilty of partaking of the Lord’s Supper with …

 

  • a spirit of division (v. 18)
  • a spirit of heresy (factions, cliques, v.19)
  • a spirit of self-deception (v. 20)
  • a spirit of selfishness and indulgence (v. 21)
  • a spirit of drunkeness (v. 21)
  • a spirit of neglecting the poor (v. 21)
  • a spirit of irreverence and carelessness in protecting the sanctity of the church (v. 22)
  • a spirit of unthoughtfulness and carelessness in approaching the Lord’s Supper

 

 

Very frankly, the above list seems to indicate that having sin within one’s heart and life is what is meant by partaking unworthily. Certainly, if we eat the bread and drink the cup with unconfessed sin in our hearts and lives, how can we be counted worthy? Our only worthiness is Jesus Christ, and the only time we are counted worthy by Him is when we are walking …

 

  • in constant confession
  • in constant repentance to Him
  • in constant praise of His mercy, grace, Person, and work

 

We have no righteousness of our own, so the only conceivable time we could be counted worthy would be when we are walking in constant fellowship with Him. And constant fellowship means actively thinking upon and talking with Him through confession, repentance, praise, and request.

 

There are consequences for partaking of the Lord’s Supper unworthily, that is, with unconfessed sin in one’s heart and life.

 

This is why we take the right approach to the Lord’s Supper.

 

  • Examine ourselves.
  • Accept the chastening of the Lord. Confess and repent.
  • Serve one another. Stop acting selfishly and stop indulging yourself.
  • Do not bring condemnation upon yourself. Straighten your life out and sin no more.

 

 

Pastor Andy Lambert

Phone/Text: 205.642.8744 ext. 101

Email: pastorandy@cvcog.church

 

 

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